The group in favor of making alcohol sales legal in Crawford County dropped an appeal to try and put the issue on the ballot this November.

Keep Dollars in Crawford County was suing the county clerk's determination that it hadn't gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

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The lawsuit also challenged the constitutionality of some laws governing the gathering of signatures for petitions.

"For months, our committee worked tirelessly to give the people of Crawford County the opportunity to vote on this issue, but ultimately, we have determined we simply came up short," spokesperson Kevin Holmes said.

"We still believe alcohol sales are important for the economic future of our county, and we are grateful to all of the folks who signed the petition and worked hard to try to put this measure on the ballot," Holmes said.

Members of Keep Dollars In Crawford County worked to gather signatures for more than six months.

"When we started doing the math on the numbers we were about 153 signatures short of where we needed to be even if the court approved these signatures to be able to have them on the ballot, " Shayne McKinney said. "In Crawford County, come January, it's very likely you will be able to buy marijuana and you won't be able to buy a six-pack of beer."

Under Arkansas law, for a county to turn from dry to wet, signatures must be gathered from 38 percent of qualified voters in that specific county.

According to a spokesperson with the secretary of state, any issue other than alcohol sales would require significantly fewer signatures, ranging from 6-10 percent of qualified voters.

The spokesperson for the secretary of state tells 40/29 News that in 2005 legislators passed a law requiring the higher percentage of signatures in order for the issue to be placed on the ballot.

That spokesperson could not say why the law was passed.

"There's millions of dollars being spent coming from Crawford County to Sebastian County," McKinney said. "Special interests have won and the people's voices aren't going to get heard on this issue."

"That's a big difference. I want to know why," Debbie Edwards said.

Edwards and other people who own businesses on historic Main Street in Van Buren tell 40/29 News they were hoping alcohol sales would revitalize their downtown area.

"The only people who come down here, they're not coming to buy things, they're coming for entertainment and alcohol is a part of it, " Marcia Cooksey said.

"The first thing people want to know is, where can they get a pizza and a beer or a glass of wine with their meal and we can't offer that, " Steve Edwards said. "You have to go to another county to get that. It's sales that we have lost to another county."

Because the petitions were not certified, the county clerk tells 40/29 News that Keep Dollars In Crawford County will have to start over, gathering new signatures if the group wants the alcohol sales question on future ballots.

40/29 News tried to contact the group that opposed alcohol sales in the county, but, our calls were not returned.